United States v. Ralph Arvizu
534 U.S. 266 · Decided January 15, 2002 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
United States v. Ralph Arvizu was decided on January 15, 2002 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Search and seizure (general)” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 534 U.S. 266 · 122 S. Ct. 744 · 151 L. Ed. 2d 740 · 2002 U.S. LEXIS 490
- Docket number
- 00-1519
- Decided
- January 15, 2002
- Argued
- November 27, 2001
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Search and seizure (general)
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Ralph Arvizu
SCDB identifiers: case 2001-015, docket 2001-015-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Search and seizure (general)”
- United States v. Mark James Knights
- United States v. Christopher Drayton and Clifton Brown, Jr.
- Kennedy D. Kirk v. Louisiana
- Danny Lee Kyllo v. United States
- Crystal M. Ferguson v. City of Charleston
- Illinois v. Charles McArthur
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- United States v. Mark James Knights
- William Arthur Kelly v. South Carolina
- United States v. Alphonso Vonn
- Walter Mickens, Jr. v. John Taylor
- United States v. Leonard CottonAltered precedent
- Alabama v. Lereed Shelton
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error